Resident asks state comptroller to re-examine Seneca County water rate hike

Mary Anne Kowalski is an outspoken opponent of a proposed rate hike for customers of Seneca County Water District No. 1. She claims the increase, which is set to take effect July 1, is premature and based on incomplete financial information.

“I have tried repeatedly to get this information from the county manager and the Board of Supervisors,” Kowalski said. “The monthly reports, annual report and capital improvement plan are all part of the corrective action plan in response to the State Comptroller’s Office audit of the county’s water and sewer districts.”

Her efforts to convince County Manager John Sheppard and the Board of Supervisors to reconsider the hike have not been successful.

Now she is asking the state Comptroller’s Office to reopen the audit “to investigate the county’s compliance with state law.”

“(If the state Comptroller’s Office would like to respond to an irate constituent and circumvent local legislative authority to deny a required rate increase with their power of conducting an audit, I welcome their participation, feedback and influence,” Sheppard said.